When thinking of the Atlanta Falcons' defensive line, most fans' minds go to Jalon Walker or James Pearce Jr. How can they not? They're two of the better young edge rushers in the NFL, and if one of those names isn't the first to come to mind, odds are it's young DTs Brandon Dorlus or Zach Harrison.
Dorlus and Harrison both broke out in 2025, but the Falcons completely overhauled their interior defensive line room for a reason. The sack numbers were solid, but they couldn't do a thing against the run. It's like they had 11 Bobby Bouchers out there who's sole purpose was to rush the passer.
It may not feel like it because no one has discussed it, but the defensive line is much better off. It was time to pull the rip cord on Ruke Orhorhoro for Maason Smith. David Onyemata needed to go to trust the youngsters more. But the veteran they signed to replace Onyemata has stood out in minicamp.
Da'Shawn Hand has quickly turned heads replacing David Onyemata
Da'Shawn Hand signed a one-year deal worth $3 million with the Dirty Birds, where his role has been a carbon copy of Onyemata's: help this team stiffen up their run defense while mentoring the army of young defensive tackles they have in tow, and so far, the early returns have been very encouraging.
While ESPN's NFL Nation went over standouts from all 32 NFL teams this spring, Falcons beat reporter Marc Raimondi labeled Hand as his biggest standout, as he's quickly carved out a role for himself on a defensive line that desperately needs players like himself to improve against the run.
"The signing of Hand, 30, did not make a ton of headlines, but he has quickly solidified himself this spring as a key player on a line that needs to improve in stopping the run," Raimondi wrote. "He has even earned himself the nickname "Kingpin" from defensive line coach Nate Ollie as the "final boss" of the unit."
Raimondi also included one of the more interesting tidbits that came out of OTAs in Flowery Branch: the 30-year-old has quickly earned the nickname "Kingpin" from DL coach Nate Ollie because he's been the "final boss" of the unit. First off, kudos for an awesome nickname, but this is what you need.
The Falcons didn't break the bank in free agency in any area of their roster. this offseason Their strategy has been to bank on a higher return on investment from players they signed for cheap, and so far, it sounds like Da'Shawn Hand is one of the better value signings Ian Cunningham has made.
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